Florida Passes Bill to Issue Certificates for Miscarriages

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida could become the first state to issue what's essentially a birth certificate for women who've had miscarriages under a bill the Legislature sent to Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday.
The Grieving Families Act would give parents the option of receiving a state-issued certificate if a pregnancy is lost between nine weeks and 20 weeks of gestation.
"The parent can name the child if they have a gender or they can just name it Baby Smith," said Republican Rep. Bob Cortes, the bill's House sponsor. "It doesn't matter whether you're a Republican or Democrat, somebody in life has been touched through a miscarriage and they understand how important this is as part of the grieving process."
The Senate passed the bill unanimously Thursday, three weeks after the House passed it on a 115-1 vote. The bill was worded in a way to ensure it wouldn't spark a partisan argument over whether the state was trying to define life...Read More

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